The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season, which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 miles (8 km) west of New York City. The stadium is shared with the New York Jets. The Giants are headquartered and practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, also in the Meadowlands.
Francis Asbury Tarkenton, nicknamed "Scramblin' Fran", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is widely regarded as the first great dual-threat quarterback in the NFL. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was recognized as a twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. After retiring from football, he became a media personality and computer software executive.
Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. Nicknamed "World" because of his superb catching ability, his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in NFL history. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Samuel Davis Mills Jr. was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. He also played for three seasons for the Philadelphia / Baltimore Stars of the United States Football League (USFL), where he won two championships in 1984 and 1985. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Roland "Champ" Bailey Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he earned consensus All-American honors, and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1999 NFL draft.
Richard Vershaun Seymour is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, and was drafted by the Patriots sixth overall in the 2001 NFL draft.
Howard Matthew Moses Long is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He spent his entire career with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders franchise, who selected him in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft. Long received eight Pro Bowl and three first-team All-Pro selections while helping the team win Super Bowl XVIII. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Jeffrey Bertrand Blake is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. Blake was a member of seven teams during his career, playing his longest stint with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1994 to 1999. Prior to his five seasons in Cincinnati, he was selected in the sixth round of the 1992 NFL draft by the New York Jets, who he was a member of for two seasons. He spent the second half of his career playing for the New Orleans Saints from 2000 to 2001 and one season each with the Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Chicago Bears.
William Ferdie Brown was an American professional football player, coach and administrator. He played as a cornerback for the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and later in the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, Brown remained with the Raiders as an assistant coach. He served as the head football coach at California State University, Long Beach in 1991, the final season before the school's football program was terminated. Brown was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1984. At the time of his death he was on the Raiders' administrative staff.
Bruce Rankin Matthews is an American former professional football player who played as a guard, center, offensive tackle, and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, from 1983 to 2001. He spent his entire career playing for the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise. Highly versatile, Matthews played every position on the offensive line throughout his NFL career, starting in 99 games as a left guard, 87 as a center, 67 as a right guard, 22 as a right tackle, 17 as a left tackle, and was the long snapper on field goals, PATs, and punts. Having never missed a game due to injury, Matthews' 293 NFL games started is the third most of all time, behind quarterbacks Brett Favre and Tom Brady.
Steven Cyril DeLong was an American professional football defensive lineman who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was a first round draft selection in both the AFL and NFL drafts in 1965. He played collegiately for the University of Tennessee, and professionally for the San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears. In 1969 with San Diego, he set a team record with 17 sacks, a mark which stood until Gary Johnson had 17+1⁄2 in 1980. He was traded from the Chargers to the Bears on July 26, 1972, for a fourth-round selection in the 1973 NFL draft.
The Tennessee Volunteers football program represents the University of Tennessee (UT).
Earl Franklin Leggett was an American football defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, and the New Orleans Saints. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU). He was also an assistant coach for various teams.
Christopher Howard Long is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. The son of Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and older brother of NFL guard Kyle Long, he played college football at the University of Virginia and won the Ted Hendricks Award as a senior. Long was selected by the St. Louis Rams second overall in the 2008 NFL draft, where he spent eight seasons. He later played one season for the New England Patriots and two for the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl title with each.
Marquise Derell Goodwin is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He also is an Olympian who competed in the long jump in track and field. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round with the 78th pick of the 2013 NFL draft. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns.
Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly referred to as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. The club is mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early football era of Italy, with seven national titles. They currently play in Serie C, the third tier of Italian football.
Kyle Howard Long is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and the younger brother of former defensive end Chris Long, he played college football at the University of Oregon following stints with Florida State University and Saddleback College. He was selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, where he played his first seven seasons.
Jalen Lattrel Ramsey is an American professional football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars fifth overall in the 2016 NFL draft.
The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, replacing the Belgian Second Division. From the season 2016–17 until 2019–20, the competition was named Proximus League, after the main sponsor Proximus.
